madbaker: (Gunnerkrigg me)
[personal profile] madbaker
This week's Resolution Recipe: Family Marmalade.

1.4 kg Seville oranges
2.8 kg sugar
juice of 2 lemons
2.8 liters water

Soak oranges for 3 minutes in hot water, then take off peel. Squeeze out the juice and cut up the pulp. Finely slice the peel, and put pips into a muslin bag (I used cheesecloth, tied up with butcher's twine). Put juice, pulp, and peel into a pan together with the water and pips, and cook gently until the peel is tender - about two hours. Press out the pectin from the bag of pips into the ban with the backs of two spoons, and discard the bag. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice, and boil rapidly for 15-25 minutes until the setting point is reached. Pot up in sterilized jars.

What worked: We were given some Seville oranges from a friend's tree and this produced a fairly light marmalade that tasted like good (light) commercial stuff. I started with 750 g oranges and used less than the twice sugar called for. It's bitter, but I like it that way. It produced two pints (actual yield, slightly more than 1.5 pints due to the boil-over loss, sigh). They set nicely though. Pips have a lot of pectin in them!

What didn't: It boiled over. Twice, with only slightly traumatic results. My fault for looking away. The oranges were very dry; I suspect that the friend has not watered. I supplemented with commercial Seville orange juice, which may have contributed to the lightness of the marmalade. The peel all floated to the top of the jars which is a bit odd.

Will I make it again? Not any time soon; the wife does not care for marmalade the way I do, and I don't have any more Seville oranges. On the other hand, I could use a pint of this to make Orange Marmalade Suet Pudding.

Date: 2013-12-09 06:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] desperance.livejournal.com
Traditionally, if you just let it sit in the pan for ten minutes after you turn the heat off and before bottling, it's supposed to counteract the floating-peel effect. (I am cynical about this, but numerous recipes say so, so...)

Date: 2013-12-09 03:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] madbaker.livejournal.com
Huh. I've never experienced this effect before - perhaps my previous batches of marmalade were all heavy enough for it not to matter. Thanks!

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